Philadelphia Flyers are in a fortuitous position because of the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames.

Philadelphia Flyers fans should be in good spirits this morning. No only did the team extend its win streak to three games, but they are looking very good in the Metropolitan Division standings.

The Flyers have leapfrogged both the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders in the division. With 30 points in 26 games they are in sole possession of second in the Metro.

This is mostly due to the fantastic defensive play that John Tortorella has his team committed to. The Flyers have the sixth-best penalty kill in the league (86%) to go along with the ninth-best goals against per game in the league with 2.73.

The recent jump up the standings took place with a little help from some Canadian teams. The Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames took a combined four points away from the Hurricanes.

On Wednesday night the Oilers scored twice in the first 41 seconds of the game to put the Hurricanes against the ropes early. They would chase Pyotr Kochetkov from the net after only about five minutes had passed on the first period.

Completing their second half of a back-to-back last night, the Hurricanes faced the Flames. They got off to a better start and had a 2-0 lead exiting the first period. But things went off the rails in the third when the Flames rallied for three goals, securing the win.

The next game for the Hurricanes is Saturday night against the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks started the year on fire but have cooled off recently. That should make for an interesting match-up - and one that Flyers fans should keep their eyes on.

The Flyers have done the major lifting themselves to get into this position, but it doesn't hurt to get a little help from other teams defeating your divisional rivals.

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